bio
THIS IS MY STORY...
My name is Isaac and I’m a singer! It has taken me a very long time to be able to say those words and actually BELIEVE IT! I never thought I was a naturally gifted singer (I still don’t) but I’ve come to learn that I’ve been Blessed with the ability to evoke emotion when I sing … which is pretty COOL. So with that, here’s my story:
I grew up in Denver, CO as an overweight child in the late 70’s. I was a product of divorced parents (I was age 9) and a very complicated family structure (we won’t get into all of that!). The one thing that made me happy (and annoyed the crap out of my siblings) was singing. I sang to myself mostly but would sing anything with a melody (commercials were my favorite!). I always made time to frustrate my brother with it (love you B!). Although my grandmother played the organ for our church her entire life (yep, she played 63 of her 92 years!!), there was minimal musical/vocal talent amongst my immediate family. I was the “lucky” one – although sometimes it didn’t feel that way. I was a shy kid (due to my weight) so it was particularly frustrating when my mother would “make” me sing to her friends. I hated it … because not only was I self-conscious about my weight but I was also self-conscious about my voice. I never thought I was a “good” singer … I just did it because it made me feel good (like most people). It was “therapy” for the most part. It wasn’t until high school and a random run-in with the choir director that I truly embraced singing. While on my way to a class during my Junior year, I was humming a tune and the choir director happened to overhear me and asked why I wasn’t in the choir. I said “I don’t know” in which he instructed me to stop by the choir room during lunch period. He then had me do some scales and DO-RE-Mi stuff and concluded, “you have a very nice 2nd Tenor / Baritone voice.” That helped tremendously! I joined the choir that year, sang a couple of leads and even sang the national anthem acapella at our High School State Track meet my senior year (I played football and threw Shot-Put for our track team). I graduated high school weighing 290lbs.
From there I went to college at Grambling State University in Louisiana where I sang with the University choir for 2 years and even joined a gospel team for a year. (I went from 290lbs to 230lbs in my Freshmen year!). The most fun I had was singing in one of the talent shows and the Miss Grambling pageant. I sang I Can Only Be Me & The Greatest Love of All respectively and was even asked to sing at the Bayou Classic Pageant held in New Orleans, LA not once but twice! The talent around the campus was CRAZY good and was primarily dominated by a group called Nouvelle and one of the most dynamic singers I’ve ever heard, Mary Griffin (check her out on your streaming service!). They were incredible. Funny enough, there was a young lady name Erica Wilson who lived next door to me one summer in “The Clark Trailers” who didn’t sing at any of the university events (in fact, she was IN the Miss Grambling pageant that I sang in) but she turned out to be one of the biggest selling R&B artists and trendsetters of our time. Here name … ERYKAH BADU!! Yep!
After I graduated college (double major in Math & Computer Science), I moved to Cincinnati, OH as an IT Analyst with Procter & Gamble. Unfortunately, my weight had gone back up and hit a high point of 311lbs (my father passed away and the stress of transitioning to “adulthood” got to me). After a year or so of working, I joined a church (Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church) which included the Adult Choir and Praise Ensemble. I sang a bunch of leads and really began to build some confidence in my vocal abilities. After a little over three years in OH, I was transferred by the company to a plant in Southern California. I endured a rough patch from a working standpoint and the stress caused me to max out at 351lbs! Luckily, being in California and the state of “beautiful people” it gave me the focus that I needed to get healthy and lose the weight. Over a 3 year period, I went from 351lbs to 215lbs … yep 136lbs! I DID THAT! No fads, just better eating and exercise. I then left Procter & Gamble and focused on music full time as a background singer for a few local LA artists. I first sang backup for an incredibly gifted young lady named C.C. White (look her up via your streaming service – This IS Soul Kirtan!). I also sang back up for Aaron Paul McClain (who played guitar for Carlos Santa and many other artists) as well as Maxine Carter and Tish Jones. I really enjoyed each of them and my role as their backup singer. I also sang on a few commercials and did some studio work as well … I actually sang on the song “Bodies” by Robbie Williams!
Music is a fickle foe so after 4+ years of pursuing it, I decided it was time to return to my stable (and consistently paying) IT career. I didn’t really sing for over 10 years … unless you count karaoke (which I’ve grew to LOVE). I was transferred to Minnesota roughly 5 years ago after the company I worked for was acquired. During that time, I suffered a major health event in which my mortality was in question. I survived (thank you GOD!) but with it, I gained a better perspective on the things that make me happy … and MUSIC is one of those things. I was fortunate enough to land a role within the company that transferred me back to southern California in early 2019 (I call this GOD!) and now that I’m settled, I want to make music a larger part of my journey. Now over the last decade, I’ve come to LOVE the sounds of Michael Bublé. He simply has “SWAG” and it comes across in his singing and it’s something that I want to replicate. Now mind you, I definitely don’t look like Michael Bublé (for obvious reasons – smile!) nor do I really sound like Michael Bublé but my goal is to make you/people FEEL the way that Michael Bublé’s music makes me feel when I hear it (Happy, Nostalgic, Warm, Comforted, Encouraged, etc.). If I can do that, then I’ve met/exceeded my objectives.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!!
